God is at Work

Matthew 11:1–11 NRSV

Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus

We ready ourselves, while waiting. Embracing shalom for what it always is, peace in the now. But also longing for shalom, the great peace of a world made right. We practice peace and long for peace. This is the mixture of hope and the present — shalom for this very moment, while holding hope that there is yet greater work God is doing out ahead of us.

Preparing

This is the season of preparation.

This year, we went ahead a decorated before Thanksgiving. We have done the hard work of adorning our home with Christmas joy. Some may see this as a bit preemptive, that this season of Advent should be more sparse, more somber.

But as people of hope, we prepare and lay out the best in hopes of the Christ’s arrival. The table is set, the glasses full, we are prepared…and so we say, come Lord, be with us.

There’s a way to look passed all the consumerism and glitz of the modern Christmas craze. There’s a way to see the hubbub as something of the bustling to get ready. Our work now, is to, like John, get things ready. Make your wreaths, light the candles, bake the cookies. Prepare for the arrival.

Peace

And yet we do so as people at peace with our present circumstances. No, the tree won’t be perfect. No, we don’t have the money to buy every gift they want. No, the loved ones are not coming back from the grave, just one more time, to sit with us. We have to accept this present reality and embrace it with the openhanded posture of contentment. What is, is. And we learn to be at peace with this.

I can hear the disciples clamoring around John the Baptist, wondering if he’s the one they’ve been preparing for. You can feel the crackle, the longing, that somehow the wait is over.

But John pushes these longings onward…it is not he. But he knows of the one they seek. And he is here to herald, announce, prepare for the arrival of the Christ.

For a moment, if we step into the story, we can experience this longing, seeking feeling too. Think about it — you’re under Roman occupation and you’ve heard whisperings that the old prophet’s words are being fulfilled. You’ve heard to uprisings and new leaders who have the potential to overthrough the oppressors, and so you’re hopeful. When John arrives, you feel that flutter in your stomach — is this him, is this the time?

This anticipation is yet again a perfect example of our concept of already and not yet faith. The time is now, the prophets have spoken, the voice is crying out, the Messiah comes. And, not yet. I can picture Jesus, hanging back in this crowd surrounding John. Of course he’s nearby. Not yet ready to fully engage his public ministry, but already preparing. Already listening, watching, tending to the flock. Perhaps Jesus’ mother, Mary, is in the crowd too. Contrary to the popular Christmas song, Mary DID know — she knew that God was going to make an example of her, that God was going to use here in a miraculous way to be a part of ushering in the Messiah. The Christ stands on the edges, the groaning world drawing closer to the appointed time. Almost, not yet, but soon.

Shalom

Of course, we know that we wait in much the same way. We wait for Christmas to arrive, sure. But also are waiting, once again, for the Messiah, the way of peace, to break forth in this world.

There was a lot about Peace Prizes and medals in the news this week. Our world likes to award it’s peacemakers publically. It seems for whatever kind of peace they come up with.

But with all due respect to the FIFA Peace Prize or even the Nobel Peace Prize, but the peace we celebrate in these things is only a half-baked peace. It is the peace of the already and not yet. The peace which we long for, which we hope to see glimmers of, but a peace that is not complete.

This is where we have the tension in the story. The people long for John to be the peace-bringer, to wage the war of restoration so that the people of God might be able to rest and be at home once again.

But, again, it is not a complete peace that we know.

Deep peace.

What I’m talking about is the concept of shalom.

You may have heard Hildegaard of Bingen’s mantra, grounding words: “All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well.”

This is shalom.

All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

Shalom is what the fulfillment of peace looks like. Shalom is the wolf and the lamb, side-by-side. Shalom is the great leveling of the valleys and the hills. Shalom is all manner of things, being well.

Contentment with, longing for

So what do we do with this? How do we live in the already and not yet, longing for peace’s arrival?

I am drawn to the hope of a peace that will set all things right. Who wouldn’t be?

But how do we make this happen in the already, the now, while also anticipating shalom, longing for it??

What we do is we look for how God is already at work.

The people looked to John the Baptist and could see that God was on the move.

The people see the signs of the times and anticipate that a change is coming.

We, here and now, we look around and see the ways God is binding us together, preparing us to be peacemakers here and now, while also longing for the day of God’s great shalom to wash over us all.

We wait. And we trust in the coming shalom.

Where do you see God at work?

Where have you seen the light in the darkness in this season?

Who do you look to as models of peacemaking, justice bringing, practitioners of shalom?

We seek the peace of God, the great shalom, and we work for it here and now with all that we have.

Just like John, we are not the Messiah. We are not the light. But we can be the ones that light reflects off of, the ones who point, like John does, to the Messiah. We can be champions of shalom, great people of hope for what can be. We can embrace our longing, tend to that feeling with care and desire, knowing that the longing for peace is embedded within us as people marked by God’s image. We are people meant for shalom, a people meant to bring peace.

Seek peace. Practice waiting. God is at work.